TRANSCRIPT
The United States is demanding swift action from Israel.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says President Biden made his position clear in a telephone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The president emphasised that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. He made clear the need for Israel to announce a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these steps. He underscored, as well that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilise and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians. And he urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.”
Mr Blinken says the United States expects the Israelis to make announcements on next steps within hours or days.
“Despite important steps that Israel has taken to allow assistance into Gaza, the results on the ground are woefully insufficient and unacceptable. 100% of the population in Gaza knows acute levels of food insecurity. 100% of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, and those working heroically to provide that assistance are doing so in great peril to their own lives. This week's horrific attack on the World Central Kitchen was not the first such incident. It must be the last.”
Israel says it's completed an investigation into the deaths of the seven aid workers and has made a commitment to make the report public soon.
Israeli military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, says the report will go the relevant countries and the World Central Kitchen.
“Major General Yoav Har-Even presented today to the Chief of Staff of the investigation. It is now presented to the Defence Minister and the Prime Minister, and I believe after it will be presented to the ambassadors of the relevant countries, and the representatives of World Central Kitchen. We will make it public, in a clear and transparent manner, and it will happen soon.”
The World Central Kitchen is continuing to call for an independent investigation.
The head of Doctors Without Borders says the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza on the World Central Kitchen's aid convoy "is part of the same pattern of deliberate attacks on humanitarians, health workers, journalists, U.N. personnel, schools and homes."
Christopher Lockyear, Secretary General of the aid group which is also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, Christopher Lockyear, says that "all states who are supporting Israel" during its military campaign in Gaza "are morally and politically complicit."
“Humanitarian workers are protected. No ifs, no buts. We do not accept the narrative of regrettable incidents. We do not accept it because what has happened to World Central Kitchen and MSF's convoys and shelters is part of the same pattern of deliberate attacks on humanitarians, health workers, journalists, U.N. personnel, schools and homes. This is not just about implementing an effective deconfliction mechanism of movements and locations of shared, coordinated and identified already. This is about impunity, a total disregard for the laws of war. And now it must become about accountability.”
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the U.S. that his nation's conflict with Hamas in Gaza was "a larger battle", arguing that "our battle is your battle".
Speaking during a meeting with U.S. Republican members of Congress in Jerusalem, he said there was a "long tradition of the American-Israeli alliance", which he said was "more necessary now", not just because of Hamas, but because of "the terror axis of Iran".
He said that Iran "seeks to put the Middle East back into the Dark Ages.”
His comments came after Iran vowed revenge for an alleged Israeli airstrike that killed two Iranian generals in Syria’s capital earlier this week.
“This is a larger battle. Our battle is your battle. Our victory is your victory. And if they if we don't have a victory, this will have enormous implications for American security, for our common future. So we must win. So I have three messages for you. The first is we're going to win. Absolutely. Victory is within reach. It's very close, and there is no substitute.”
In other developments, Human Rights Watch has released a report which finds an Israeli air strike in Gaza in late October was an "apparent war crime".
It says there was no indication that any Hamas militants were in the vicinity at the time of the attack on the Engineers' Building in central Gaza on October 31.
The attack killed 106 people.
